One (1) of the most common tasks performed is food preparation. Whether food is prepared at home, in a restaurant, or in an institution, food must be prepared several times a day. Food preparation consumes large amounts of time, effort, and money. Whether preparing food is a job, an unavoidable task, or something that one enjoys, food must be prepared.
Not only must food be prepared but the “mess” that results from food preparation must be cleaned up. Health departments demand it and common sense requires it.
There are many different ways to prepare food. However, one (1) very common method, particularly in restaurants, is to grill. Food such as a hamburger is placed on a hot grill, cooked for a while, and then flipped over to cook on the other side. Fast, efficient, and low cost grilling has proven itself to be useful.
While grilling is useful it is not without its problems. One (1) problem in particular is that grilling requires flipping, which in turn requires a spatula. As used herein a spatula refers to any food preparation tool having a handle and a blade wherein the blade is placed under a food item on a heated cooking surface to raise the food item from that heated cooking surface for the purpose of turning the food item onto the other side or to remove the food item from the heated cooking surface. Spatulas are also known as turners.
Spatulas work well, but they also have their problems. One (1) problem in particular is that the same spatula can be used to flip and/or remove any number of different food items from a heated cooking surface. A spatula picks up a hamburger, flips that burger, and then may be used to flip a chicken breast, egg, or pancake. Some of the hamburger may stick to the spatula and be transferred to the other items. Even worse, the grease from the first food item might end up on the second and consecutive items. Food and flavor contamination would ensue. However, cleaning the spatula with soap and water is not practical, particularly when many different items are being prepared.
In view of the foregoing, a simple to use, fast acting spatula cleaner would be useful. Such a device that is easy to clean and that can be moved from one location to another would be particularly useful.